


Wrap Me Up And Hold Me Close

by spidermanstan



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cold, Fever, Flashbacks, Gen, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Has Anxiety, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post Infinity War, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sickfic, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, and tony gives him lots, i never know if i tagged everything i need to tag lmao, this'll just have to do i guess ksjhgdf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 05:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15502854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spidermanstan/pseuds/spidermanstan
Summary: request frommy tumblr: "do yOU WANNA PROMPT I HAVE ONE how about peter having fever induced titan nightmares?"In which Peter Parker comes up with some ~creative~ coping mechanisms, the likes of which Tony Stark hasn't seen before.





	Wrap Me Up And Hold Me Close

**Author's Note:**

> i've had this idea for a long time but never wrote it, and once i got this prompt i just knew it was meant to be and started on it right away! wrote this whole thing in a few hours, and this is the first fic i've written in a hot minute that i feel really really good about, so i hope you enjoy reading it!!!

Peter felt it long before people started disappearing.

At first, he thought Thanos was coming back. He could feel his hairs standing up straight, the faint tingling at his fingertips and the shiver up his spine that always made itself known before danger struck, but looking around the barren planet, he saw no danger.

But he could _feel_ it, and _it hurt_.

“Something’s happening.” One of the Guardians warned. _I know, I can feel it too!_ Is what Peter wanted to say, but he couldn’t get his mouth to move. He was beginning to feel hot, like maybe wearing two suits was finally starting to catch up to him, and he could feel his whole body start to tremble. He squeezed his eyes shut at a pulsing sensation against his skull.

He opened them just in time to see the first of them disappear.

The petit alien was looking around frantically, as if staring at some kind of massive tragedy, as her body turned to dust and vanished into the wind.

The pulsing in his head got stronger.

The largest Guardian was next. He stared at his friend and panted out a scared sounding “Quill?” Before he too got swept up into the wind. Peter began feeling uncomfortably hot, like he was boiling in his own skin, and the pulsing in his head only grew stronger.

The third Guardian, Quill, looked over at Mr. Stark worriedly. Mr. Stark stepped forward, like he wanted to offer some kind of help but was unsure of what to do.

“Steady, Quill.” He cautioned.

“Aw man.” Quill whispered in response, his body too turning to ash. Peter’s whole body felt like it was on fire, and he was beginning to feel really spacey. He swayed slightly as Mr. Stark turned away from him to spare Dr. Strange a glance, but Peter could already feel the wizard’s fate. Mr. Stark probably did, too.

“There was no other way..” Dr. Strange grieved, almost like he was apologizing to Mr. Stark. They both watched as he, along with the others, dissipated into the wind. The pain was becoming too much for Peter’s body to handle, and before he could stop himself he was calling out to his mentor.

“Mr. Stark?” He watched as Mr. Stark turned to face him, a look of downright terror on his face. Peter lifted his trembling hands up, because it felt like he didn’t have them anymore. “I don’t feel so good.” He finally voiced, sensation in his limbs fading in and out. He stumbled again, finding it harder and harder to stand.

“You’re alright.” Mr. Stark reassured in an unusually timid voice, but Peter felt like his insides were made of magma and he couldn’t feel his fingers or his toes anymore. He looked up at the older man, and suddenly craved touch, something he could anchor himself onto.

“I don’t, I-I don’t understand what’s happening.” Peter rambled, as he lost all feeling in his left leg. He started limping towards Mr. Stark frantically. “I don’t understand!” Peter grunted as he crashing into Mr. Stark’s embrace, hugging him tightly in an attempt to bring feeling back to his arms. Mr. Stark hugged him back, holding on tightly, and Peter tried to hold onto the sensation of having Mr. Stark’s hands on his back.

He was dying.

He couldn’t deny it anymore, he knew it was coming. He was going to vanish, just like everybody else did. And it was scaring the living shit out of him.

The feeling in his right leg started to go, too, and he was now almost hanging off of Mr. Stark, desperately trying to keep his footing even though he wasn’t even sure he had feet anymore.

And then he started to cry.

He couldn’t help it. Peter was scared. His heart was hammering against his chest, his whole body on fire, his head pounding and _he was scared._

“I don’t wanna go. I don’t wanna go, sir, _please_ .” Peter begged, all feeling in his legs now gone. The two of them began to lose their balance, Peter no longer able to support himself.  He kept readjusting his grip around his mentor’s neck, trying frantically not to slip away. “Please, I don’t wanna go, _I don’t wanna go!_ ” Peter whimpered as the burning sensation entered his lungs and squeezed at his windpipe. He felt his throat begin to close as Mr. Stark not so gracefully maneuvered the two of them to the ground. Thought Peter heard the sound of them crashing down to the dirt, he didn’t feel a thing.

His whole body was numb, the only feeling remaining in his face. He tilted his head to look into Mr. Stark’s terrified eyes, was overcome with guilt. The older man’s own words echoing through his mind. _And if you had died, I feel like that’s on me. And I don’t need that on my conscious._ Peter’s vision blurred for a moment, and as the numbness began to take over his face he could’ve sworn he had felt a tear slide down his cheek.

“I’m sorry.” Peter whispered, his voice sounding much weaker than he intended it to. His vision began to scatter as the heat he felt only moments ago was replaced with a cold nothingness that enveloped Peter’s mind and swallowed him whole.

_And if you had died, I feel like that’s on me. And I don’t need that on my conscious._

_I don’t need that on my conscious._

_I feel like that’s on me._

_That’s on me._

_That’s_

_On_

_Me._

_I’m sorry._

_I’m so, so sorry._

_I don’t wanna go!_

_I’m sorry!_

_Please, Mr. Stark, I’m sorry!_

When Peter woke up, he was screaming.

The kind of screaming that scraped through his throat, leaving it feeling sore and raw. Peter wrapped his arms around himself, feeling for his body, thrashing his legs around under his covers just to make sure they were still there. He kept screaming, despite how much it hurt, because the relief that came from feeling anything at all assured him that he wasn’t back there.

Peter’s voice gave out, and he broke into fearful sobs as he shakily stood himself up from his bed. He stumbled once his bare feet hit the soft rug on his floor, and Peter’s blood ran cold at the thought that it was happening again. His body went on autopilot, his mind transporting him back to that dusty planet. The smell and taste of ash and dust began to fill his lungs.

Peter began to cough harshly as he stumbled into the bathroom, his brain mistaking the feeling of the cool bathroom tiles on his feet as numbness in its haze. Frantically, Peter reached for the first thing he saw, a roll of toilet paper, and without a second thought did the first thing that came to mind

He dropped to the bathroom floor and with shaking hands reached for his feet, knowing it would be a matter of seconds before they started to vanish once again. He began wrapping the toilet paper around his legs in an attempt to keep them from disintegrating into dust. He was sobbing, still, but kept going, until the entire roll was around his legs.

That’s how Tony found him.

He’d been down in his lab when Friday informed him that Peter was running a nasty fever and was in distress. He’d dropped what he was doing and bolted up to his floor, the sound of his crying and coughing getting louder as he approached. When he opened Peter’s bedroom door, he saw all his covers thrown onto the floor, and heard crying from the illuminated bathroom.

“Woah, woah, Peter, hey!” Tony called out when he saw the crying teen on the bathroom floor. His eyebrows knit together in confusion when he saw that Peter had wrapped his lower half in toilet paper, and it took Tony’s mind a second before he came up with a reason why he’d done that.

He’d probably had a dream about Titan. Again.

Well, more like a nightmare.

Tony carefully dropped to his knees and started inching towards the younger boy, taking in the angry fever blush settling across his cheeks. He had his eyes closed and seemingly hadn’t noticed Tony yet.

“Peter? Kid, it’s me, it’s Tony.” Tony tried again, and this time Peter opened his eyes to look at him. Relief washed over Peter’s trembling body and he frantically reached out for Tony with both hands. Without hesitation, Tony pulled the kid up to a sitting position, and Peter leaned in quickly for a hug.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, his voice hoard and almost non existent. Tony nodded, gingerly rubbing Peter’s back.

“What happened here, kid?” Tony asked the sobbing child. Peter held onto Tony tighter.

“I.. I thought I was… I was back, and I.. I…” Peter tried, but sentence forming was not his strong suit at the moment. “My legs—?”

“Your legs are still attached to your body. All ten toes included.” Tony reassured. Peter sniffled wetly against Tony’s chest, congestion evident in the action. “How about we clean this up and get you back to bed, kiddo?” Tony suggested. “You’re running one hell of a fever.”

“I’m.. I’m scared.” Peter rasped, coughing a few times for good measure. “Don’t leave me here alone, Mr. Stark… Please.” Tony’s heart clenched at how desperate and scared his kid sounded. He rubbed Peter’s back understandingly.

“Would you rather we go to the living room and watch a movie?” Tony offered instead, knowing how hard it would be for Peter to fall asleep again. “I’m not gonna leave you, kid, don’t worry. You’re stuck with me.” Tony felt Peter nod. “Okay, let’s get this cleaned up, yeah?”

Tony reluctantly pulled away from Peter, wiping the tears from his fever flushed face with his thumb. He could feel just how bad the 103 degree fever Friday had alerted him to earlier really was as he did so.

“You’re really feeling crummy, aren’t you kid?” Tony frowned. Peter sniffed again in response, and Tony could hear how clogged up his nose was. He moved the slowly tear the toilet paper away from around Peter’s legs, disposing of it in the trash can once he got it all off. “You want me to carry you?” Tony asked. Peter nodded, reaching out to the older man.

Peter wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck and Tony pulled both of them up, Peter wrapping his legs around Tony’s torso. Tony hoisted the kid up in his arms and they made their way to the living room, Peter resting his chin comfortably on Tony’s shoulder.

Tony was thankful that the closest living room to Peter’s bedroom was the main common room, with the joined kitchen right next to it. Tony made his way into the open concept kitchen, placing Peter down gently on a kitchen counter.

“How about some hot chocolate?” Tony offered. “I know you’re not big on leaf water, are you?” Tony beamed when Peter offered him a small smile and a shake of his head. He comfortingly placed his hand on Peter’s knee when he then broke into a small coughing fit, harsh and wet but not very productive.

Once the coughing had tapered off, Tony set to work boiling some milk quickly on the stove and mixing in a little more of the hot chocolate mix than recommended by the box. Before handing one of the warm mugs to Peter, he went through a cupboard to retrieve a bottle of NyQuill, pouring one dose into the provided cup.

“You can chase it with the hot chocolate.” He explained as he handed it to Peter. He rolled his eyes when Peter made a face. “I know it sucks but you’ll thank me for it later, kid. Drink up.” Tony chuckled when Peter pinched his nose to knock the medicine back, scrunching his face up in disgust once the slimy liquid slid down his throat. Tony handed Peter the mug of hot chocolate, which he’d made sure wasn’t too hot for him, and Peter took a big sip to get rid of the bitter taste of the medicine.

Now a little more awake and able, Peter slid himself off the counter and followed Tony to the couch, where Tony let him pick out a movie to watch. Tony wasn’t surprised when Peter picked out the newest Star Wars movie, even though Peter had already seen it twice. But hey, whatever the kid wants.

Tony brought over a knitted blanket for Peter, and helped drape it over his legs as Peter sipped more of his drink, and they started the movie. Peter managed to finish half the mug of hot chocolate before he set it down, and repositioned himself so he was laying down on the couch using Tony’s thigh as a pillow. Tony welcomed the contact by absentmindedly playing with Peter’s sweaty hair, the action comforting to the ladder.

About forty five minutes into the movie, Peter was asleep.

Tony had abandoned his own mug of hot chocolate on an end table next to the couch, his hand still combing through Peter’s hair. Thankfully, the fever wasn’t going up, but Tony assumed that was probably due more to Peter’s body fighting it off on its own and less due to the medicine he’d forced the kid to take.

Tony smiled when he heard a snore from Peter, the sound solidifying how congested the poor kid really was, but also affirming that he was asleep deeply. He made a note to call Bruce in the morning so he could give Peter a once over and make sure this was no more than a head cold. He would call Stephen, but seeing as how Peter’s been dreaming of Titan a lot lately, Stephen might bring back some memories Tony didn’t really want Peter to have to face while he’s ill.

But for the time being, Tony just relaxed into the large couch, enjoying Peter’s presence at his side. He wasn’t sure if Peter would sleep through the rest of the night, but if he woke up screaming again, Tony would be right here to help him. Because he was never going to let Peter go through this shit on his own.

_End_

**Author's Note:**

> hey! crazy idea! leave a comment!
> 
> you can comment if you like the fic,
> 
> you can comment if you hated it with every fiber of your being,
> 
> you can comment a random key smash,
> 
> you can just comment an incoherent scream,
> 
> or you can comment whatever the hell else your heart desires, my friend.
> 
> i just really appreciate it when you leave a comment!!


End file.
